One day after President Trump threw Congress into chaos and spoiled what was set to be a celebratory signing ceremony by refusing to sign a bipartisan housing bill unless lawmakers first pass his election-reform package, Speaker Mike Johnson headed to the White House to try to break the gridlock. After his meeting, Johnson said he’s sending the housing bill to Trump’s desk, starting a 10-day clock for the president to sign the measure, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature.
The president, meanwhile, called on House GOP hard-liners to back off a rebellion that had blocked legislative business.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and House GOP hard-liners had frozen the House floor in response to Trump’s unexpected demand, announcing that they would block action on legislation until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act, the election-reform package. Senate Republican leaders insist that they don’t have the votes to pass that bill, and the Senate left town Wednesday until July 13, meaning that the ultimatum from House conservatives threatened to halt much legislative business, including GOP priorities, for weeks. House Republican leaders already canceled planned Friday votes.
“Luna’s floor blockade has risked collateral damage, including passage of fiscal 2027 appropriations bills and the annual Pentagon policy bill,” Politico noted.
Trump tried to quell the rebellion. “House Republicans should unify, and stop voting down ‘Rules’ or, threatening to do so,” he wrote on his social media site. “Giving power to the Radical Left Dumocrats in the House to control what goes up for a Vote will make our outcomes worse, not better. No more grandstanding, please!”
Luna said Thursday that she had filed an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would attach the SAVE America Act to that key piece of legislation. “This is how to get my vote on a rule,” she wrote in a post on X. But such a move would do nothing to advance the bill in the Senate, where Democrats could filibuster it.
The bottom line: “Congress has work to do, and that's what we're going to do,” Johnson told reporters after his meeting with Trump. “It's another day at the office, you know, this is a process in an era with small margins, but we'll get the job done. We always do, and we'll see you guys on Monday.”